UCLA Football: Jim Mora Not Counting Josh Rosen Out vs. Washington State
UCLA Football Head Coach Jim Mora said that he is hopeful quarterback Josh Rosen would play against Washington State after getting injured against Arizona State last Saturday night.
It says something about a player that can get knocked out of a game and then re-enter to have a 400-yard passing performance. It also says something if that same player gets knocked out of the game a second time because the offensive line cannot protect him. That is UCLA Football for you.
That is also the case with Bruin QB Josh Rosen who injured his leg and his wrist last Saturday against ASU. With no running game, the Bruins have heavily relied on Rosen to led them in battle.
Unfortunately he did not get that chance to finish the job as Rosen was slammed to the ground half way through the fourth quarter on a sack last Saturday.
Related Story: UCLA's Backup QB Issues Are Symptom of Bigger Problem
Rosen was on the sideline for the last six minutes of the game holding his wrist and visibly in pain. He did not finish the contest and UCLA lost. Now the question is, “will he play against Washington State?”
Head Coach
Jim Mora
addressed those and other questions on Monday when discussing the ASU loss. The video comes courtesy of
.
When asked about Rosen, Mora said, “He was roughed up. Hopefully he will be good to go this week. He is a tough kid.” When asked about extent of the injury, Mora would only state that it was an “upper-body injury”.
If UCLA cannot go with Rosen, then the Bruins are going to have to get backup QB Mike Fafaul up to speed quickly. The Bruins also have the option to go with true freshmen Devon Modster and/or Matt Lynch in case the situation calls for it.
Against Arizona State, Fafaul connected on only 3-of-11 passes for 44 yards and 2 interceptions. With that in mind, hopefully Rosen will be alright or UCLA could be in a world of pain.
Next: What if Josh Rosen Cannot Play?
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Mora was asked about Fafaul getting more reps in practice and the Bruin coach said that it depends on how Rosen performs in the next two days. Even if Rosen is good to go, the way Mora operates, it would not be a surprise if the status of the sophomore QB was released just before kickoff. Fingers crossed we see #3 on the field against Wazzu.